Khamenei: Negotiating with Israel would be big mistake

BEIRUT – Any move to negotiate with Israel would be an "unforgivable mistake", Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday, after Saudi Arabia's crown prince said Israelis were entitled to live peacefully on their own land.

Saudi Arabia—birthplace of Islam and site of its holiest shrines—does not officially recognize Israel, but Mohammed bin Salman's comments, quoted in the US magazine The Atlantic, are a further sign of an apparent thawing in bilateral ties.

"Movement toward negotiation with the cheating, lying and oppressive regime (of Israel) is a big, unforgivable mistake that will push back the victory of the people of Palestine," Khamenei said in a statement posted on his official website.

The statement, which did not explicitly name Saudi Arabia, said it was the duty of all Muslims to support Palestinian resistance movements and it pledged continued Iranian backing for the Palestinian terror group Hamas.